H.F. 741 Section 1. Section 480.1, Code 2021, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsections: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 5A. “Forty-eight-hour period” means: 3 a. For a notice received by the notification center on or 4 before 12:00 p.m., a period of forty-eight hours beginning at 5 12:00 p.m. on the day the notification center receives the 6 notice. 7 b. For a notice received by the notification center after 8 12:00 p.m., a period of forty-eight hours beginning at 11:59 9 p.m. on the day the notification center receives the notice. 10 NEW SUBSECTION . 5B. “Locator” means a person who engages 11 in, or proposes to engage in, the location and marking of 12 underground facilities pursuant to a contract with an operator. 13 “Locator” does not include an employee of an operator. 14 NEW SUBSECTION . 11. “Utilities board” means the utilities 15 board within the utilities division of the department of 16 commerce. 17 Sec. 2. Section 480.4, subsection 3, paragraph a, 18 subparagraphs (1) and (2), Code 2021, are amended to read as 19 follows: 20 (1) An operator who receives notice from the notification 21 center shall mark the horizontal location of the operator’s 22 underground facility and the excavator shall use due care in 23 excavating in the marked area to avoid damaging the underground 24 facility. The operator shall complete such locating and 25 marking, and shall notify the notification center that the 26 marking is complete within forty-eight hours after receiving 27 the notice a forty-eight-hour period , excluding Saturdays, 28 Sundays, and legal holidays, unless otherwise agreed by the 29 operator and the excavator. No later than the expiration of 30 the forty-eight-hour period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, 31 and legal holidays, the notification center shall notify the 32 excavator of the underground facility locating and marking 33 status, or the failure of the operator to notify the center 34 that the locating and marking is complete. The locating and 35 -1- LSB 2217HV (2) 89 jda/rn 1/ 8

H.F. 741 marking of the underground facilities shall be completed at no 1 cost to the excavator. If, in the opinion of the operator, 2 the planned excavation requires that the precise location 3 of the underground facilities be determined, the excavator, 4 unless otherwise agreed upon between the excavator and the 5 operator, shall hand dig test holes to determine the location 6 of the facilities unless the operator specifies an alternate 7 method. The operator may contract with a locator to perform 8 the locating and marking. A locator contracted to perform 9 locating and marking for an operator shall be subject to the 10 same requirements for locating and marking as established in 11 this chapter for an operator. 12 (2) The marking required under this subsection shall be 13 done in a manner that will last for a minimum of five working 14 days on any nonpermanent surface, or a minimum of ten working 15 days on any permanent surface. If the excavation will continue 16 for any period longer than such periods, the operator shall 17 remark the location of the underground facility upon the 18 request of the excavator. The request shall be made through 19 the notification center. The operator shall complete the 20 remarking and notify the notification center it has done 21 so within a forty-eight-hour period, excluding Saturdays, 22 Sundays, and legal holidays, unless otherwise agreed by the 23 operator and the excavator. No later than the expiration of 24 the forty-eight-hour period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, 25 and legal holidays, the notification center shall notify the 26 excavator that the operator has completed the remarking or has 27 failed to notify the notification center that the remarking was 28 completed. 29 Sec. 3. Section 480.4, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 2021, 30 is amended to read as follows: 31 b. An operator who receives notice from the notification 32 center and who determines that the operator does not have 33 any underground facility located within the proposed area of 34 excavation shall notify the notification center concerning 35 -2- LSB 2217HV (2) 89 jda/rn 2/ 8

H.F. 741 this determination within forty-eight hours after receiving 1 the notice a forty-eight-hour period , excluding Saturdays, 2 Sundays, and legal holidays. No later than the expiration of 3 the forty-eight-hour period, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, 4 and legal holidays, the notification center shall notify the 5 excavator that the operator does not have any underground 6 facilities within the proposed area of excavation. 7 Sec. 4. Section 480.6, Code 2021, is amended to read as 8 follows: 9 480.6 Civil penalties. 10 1. A person who violates a provision of this chapter is 11 subject to a civil penalty as follows: 12 a. For a violation related to natural gas and hazardous 13 liquid pipelines, an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars 14 for each violation for each day the violation continues, up to 15 a maximum of five hundred thousand dollars. 16 b. For a violation related to any other underground 17 facility, an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars for each 18 violation for each day the violation continues, up to a maximum 19 of twenty thousand dollars. 20 c. For a locator’s violation related to any time limit 21 in this chapter or any standard established by the utilities 22 board pursuant to section 480.11, an amount not to exceed one 23 hundred dollars for each violation for each day the violation 24 continues, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars. The 25 utilities board shall establish, by rule, a schedule or range 26 of civil penalties that it may assess in accordance with this 27 paragraph. 28 2. The attorney general, upon the receipt of a complaint, 29 may institute any legal proceedings necessary to enforce the 30 penalty provisions of this chapter . The attorney general may 31 refer a complaint to the utilities board to investigate the 32 complaint. After investigating a complaint pursuant to this 33 subsection, the utilities board shall provide the attorney 34 general with a written summary of the investigation and all 35 -3- LSB 2217HV (2) 89 jda/rn 3/ 8

H.F. 741 evidence the utilities board acquired during the investigation. 1 3. The utilities board may independently receive, 2 investigate, and enforce all of the following complaints: 3 a. Complaints alleging a violation of section 480.11 4 pursuant to rules adopted by the utilities board. 5 b. Complaints alleging a violation of any time limit in 6 this chapter by an operator who is a public utility subject 7 to chapter 476. Pursuant to section 476.51, the utilities 8 board may impose a civil penalty on an operator who is a 9 public utility subject to chapter 476, and who violates any 10 time limit in this chapter, consistent with a schedule or 11 range established by rule under section 480.6, subsection 1, 12 paragraph “c” . 13 4. The utilities board may provide the attorney general 14 with a written summary of an investigation under subsection 15 3 and all evidence the utilities board acquired during the 16 investigation. 17 5. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit the 18 authority of the attorney general to enforce the terms of this 19 chapter. The attorney general’s authority to enforce this 20 chapter is not contingent upon the utilities board’s receipt 21 of a complaint, investigation of a complaint, or provision 22 of a summary of its investigation. The schedule or range of 23 civil penalties established by the utilities board pursuant to 24 subsection 1, paragraph “c” , shall not apply to an action by the 25 attorney general to enforce the terms of this chapter. 26 3. 6. All amounts collected pursuant to this section shall 27 be remitted to the treasurer of state, who shall deposit the 28 amount in the general fund of the state. 29 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION . 480.11 Locator certificate. 30 1. A locator shall not engage in the location or marking 31 of underground facilities on behalf of an operator pursuant to 32 section 480.4 without first receiving a locator certificate 33 from the utilities board. 34 2. The utilities board shall establish, by rule, all of the 35 -4- LSB 2217HV (2) 89 jda/rn 4/ 8

H.F. 741 following: 1 a. The procedure for obtaining a locator certificate. 2 b. An application for a locator certificate. The 3 application shall require all of the following: 4 (1) A copy of the locator’s basic organizational document. 5 (2) If the locator is not incorporated or organized in this 6 state, a copy of the locator’s certificate of authority. 7 (3) Information related to the locator’s insurance and 8 bonding. 9 (4) Information related to the training utilized by the 10 locator. 11 (5) Information related to the locator’s experience 12 locating and marking underground facilities. 13 (6) Information related to complaints the locator has 14 received from an excavator, operator, or any other person 15 related to the locator’s services. 16 (7) A statement that the locator agrees to comply with the 17 requirements of this chapter and rules adopted by the utilities 18 board pursuant to this chapter and chapter 476. 19 c. Performance standards applicable to locators, including 20 standards intended to ensure locators timely and accurately 21 complete their services as required by this chapter. 22 d. A schedule or range of civil penalties that the utilities 23 board may assess for violations of this section. 24 e. A procedure for the suspension or revocation of a locator 25 certificate. 26 3. A locator who has received a certificate from the 27 utilities board under this section shall not do any of the 28 following: 29 a. Enter into a contract with an operator that provides 30 incentive payments to the locator based on the number of 31 location and marking services performed by the locator. 32 b. Pay an employee or independent contractor based on 33 the number of location and marking services performed by the 34 employee or independent contractor. 35 -5- LSB 2217HV (2) 89 jda/rn 5/ 8

H.F. 741 c. Notify the notification center that the locator’s 1 services could not be completed as a result of a failure to 2 contact the excavator unless the locator includes in the 3 notification information showing the date, time, and method of 4 the locator’s attempted contact, including the name and contact 5 information of the representative of the excavator that the 6 locator attempted to contact. 7 4. A locator shall complete the timely and accurate locating 8 of underground utilities in the same manner as specified in 9 section 480.4, subsections 3 and 5. 10 5. An operator shall not be subject to any action under this 11 section. 12 6. The utilities board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 13 17A to administer and interpret this section. 14 EXPLANATION 15 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 16 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 17 This bill relates to the location and marking of underground 18 facilities and provides penalties. 19 The bill defines “forty-eight-hour period” as, for a notice 20 received by the notification center on or before 12:00 p.m., 21 a period of 48 hours beginning at 12:00 p.m. on the day the 22 notification center receives the request, and for a notice 23 received by the notification center after 12:00 p.m., a period 24 of 48 hours beginning at 11:59 p.m. on the day the notification 25 center receives the request. The bill defines “locator” 26 as a person who engages in the location and marking of 27 underground facilities pursuant to a contract with an operator. 28 Additionally, the bill provides that “locator” does not include 29 an employee of an operator. The bill defines “utilities board” 30 as the utilities board within the utilities division of the 31 department of commerce. 32 The bill requires an operator who receives notice from the 33 notification center to mark the location of the operator’s 34 underground facility, and notify the notification center 35 -6- LSB 2217HV (2) 89 jda/rn 6/ 8

H.F. 741 that the marking is complete, within a forty-eight-hour 1 period. The bill authorizes an operator to contract with a 2 locator to perform the locating and marking. Additionally, 3 the bill requires the operator to complete any remarking, 4 and requires the notification center to notify the excavator 5 of the operator’s completion of the remarking, or the 6 operator’s failure to notify the notification center, within a 7 forty-eight-hour period. 8 The bill requires an operator who receives notice from the 9 notification center and who determines that the operator does 10 not have any underground facility located within the proposed 11 area of excavation to notify the notification center within a 12 forty-eight-hour period. 13 The bill provides that if a locator violates a time limit in 14 Code chapter 480, or any standard established by the utilities 15 board, the locator shall be subject to a civil penalty in an 16 amount not to exceed $100 for each violation for each day the 17 violation continues, up to a maximum of $5,000. The bill 18 requires the board to establish, by rule, a schedule or range 19 of civil penalties that it may assess. 20 The bill authorizes the attorney general to refer a 21 complaint to the utilities board to investigate the complaint. 22 The bill provides that, after investigating a complaint, the 23 board shall provide the attorney general with a written summary 24 of the investigation and evidence the board acquired during the 25 investigation. 26 The bill authorizes the board to independently receive, 27 investigate, and enforce complaints alleging a violation of 28 new Code section 480.11 pursuant to rules adopted by the 29 board, and complaints alleging a violation of any time limit 30 in Code chapter 480 by an operator who is a public utility. 31 Additionally, the bill authorizes the board to provide the 32 attorney general with a written summary of the investigation 33 and evidence the board acquired during the investigation. 34 The bill provides that nothing in Code chapter 480 shall be 35 -7- LSB 2217HV (2) 89 jda/rn 7/ 8

H.F. 741 construed to limit the authority of the attorney general to 1 enforce the Code chapter. Additionally, the bill provides that 2 the attorney general’s authority to enforce Code chapter 480 is 3 not contingent upon the board’s receipt of a complaint. 4 The bill prohibits a locator from engaging in the location 5 or marking of underground facilities on behalf of an operator 6 without first receiving a locator certificate from the board. 7 The bill requires the board to establish by rule all of the 8 following: a procedure for obtaining a locator certificate, an 9 application for a locator certificate, performance standards 10 applicable to locators, a schedule or range of civil penalties 11 that the board may assess for violations, and a procedure for 12 the suspension or revocation of a locator certificate. The 13 bill provides requirements for the application for a locator 14 certificate. 15 The bill prohibits a locator who has received a certificate 16 from the board from entering into a contract with an operator 17 that provides incentive payments to the locator based on 18 the number of location and marking services performed or 19 from paying an employee or independent contractor based on 20 the number of location and marking services performed by an 21 employee or independent contractor. Additionally, the bill 22 prohibits a locator who has received a certificate from the 23 board from notifying the notification center that the locator’s 24 services could not be completed as a result of a failure to 25 contact the excavator unless the locator includes in the 26 notification information related to the attempted contact. 27 The bill provides that an operator shall not be subject to 28 any action under new Code section 480.11. 29 The bill grants the board the authority to adopt rules to 30 administer and interpret the provisions of the bill relating to 31 new Code section 480.11. 32 -8- LSB 2217HV (2) 89 jda/rn 8/ 8